Adobe Patches Acrobat And Reader XSS Bug, 3 Other Flaws
The four fixed flaws include a cross-site scripting bug and three
others that were patched with new versions of Acrobat and Reader More

Spam Sets Record, Accounts For 94 Percent Of E-mail
Postini blocked 25 billion spam messages aimed at 36,000 clients in
December, an increase of 144 percent over the same month in 2005. More

The World’s Smallest Projector
In emerging tech news at CES, reports Editor of Reviews Lance Ulanoff,
Microvision introduced PicoP, a laser-based projector that may one day
soon be placed inside portable cell phones, MP3 players, and other
handheld devices. PicoP will be no larger than an Andes thin mint, yet
it will be capable of projecting a 50-foot image. Gotta love the
emerging tech! More

Gates Previews Server for Home Users
Dan Costa (PC Magazine’s senior editor, consumer electronics) reports
that Bill Gates demoed a new server designed specifically for home
users at his keynote address on Sunday. Dubbed Windows Home Server, the
software is designed to make it easy for consumers with no technical
expertise to set up a home server and use it for file sharing, for
backup, and as an always-on library of media—and I say
hallelujah, if it really is easy! Microsoft will be partnering with a
variety of hardware vendors to offer the server appliance through
retail channels. Devices should be available by mid-2007. More

Shortcut to Open a Window Maximized
A reader writes:
"When I open any Windows application, it opens in either half or
three-quarters of the screen. How can I make all my applications open
in maximized form? And how can I quickly maximize any window from the
keyboard?" More

Finally, Apple answers call for iPhone
After years of speculation, Apple reveals its iPod mobile phone, as
well as a home networking device, at Macworld. More

New Imaging Sensors That Can Do It In The Dark
Korean company Planet82 Inc., which produces a number of nanotechnology
products, have been promoting a new type of sensor that can capture
images with almost no visible light. More

NSA helped Microsoft make Vista secure
The U.S. agency best known for eavesdropping on telephone calls had a
hand in the development of Microsoft’s Vista operating system,
Microsoft confirmed Tuesday. More

It’s Good to Know: The Limited Lifespan of Burned CDs

By Suzanne Richardson

If you’re in the habit of burning important files to CD - like those
digital photos of your child’s first Christmas - you may want to
rethink your storage medium.

While a standard photograph can last for decades - even a century or
more with proper storage - a digital photograph stored on a CD can last
for a maximum of about 20 years (with ideal storage conditions). That’s
because the dye coatings on CDs deteriorate over time, eventually
rendering the contents unreadable.

So how you can you hold onto your files for the long term? Here’s a
breakdown of your options.

Keep hard copies. Pros: Original versions can last for decades and
beyond. Cons: You’ll need plenty of storage space to hold boxes of your
original CDs and photo albums and printouts of your unfinished novels
and PowerPoint presentations.

Use magnetic tape. Pros: According to Kurt Gerecke, a physicist and
storage expert at IBM Deutschland, this “superior storage medium" can
have a lifespan of 30 to 100 years. Cons: Eventually, even this storage
medium deteriorates.

Buy professional-grade discs to house your files. Pros: Tom Peterson,
product line manager at a company that sells CD and DVD replicating
equipment to corporations, says professional-quality CDs and DVDs can
last for up to 100 years. Cons: High-quality can mean hard to find as
well as expensive.
(Source: PC World)
From the http://www.earlytorise.com
newsletter
[Early to Rise Copyright ETR, LLC, 2007]
If you’d like to subscribe to Early to Rise or suggest it to a friend,
please visit: here

Hotel\gaming mogul chases Bill Gates for ’Richest American’ tag
Through his Las Vegas Sands Corp., Sheldon Adelson was making US$23.6
million a day and will pass Gates in 2012, according to many estimates.
More

Despite 100 million IE 7 installs, Microsoft’s browser still loses
ground
Firefox’s share of the US browser market is at 14 percent and has
continued to grow each of the last three months, says one research
firm. More

FBI warns of twist in extortion phishing scam
Pay no attention to e-mails, purportedly from the FBI in London,
stating you were next on a murderer’s hit list. More

A reader writes:
"I have years of reel-to-reel tapes, from the late sixties through the
eighties, and still listen to them, but I would like to convert the
music to CD to preserve it. Some of the tapes are starting to lose the
higher frequencies. Is there software/hardware that will do an
analog-to-digital conversion from my reel-to-reel player to a CD for
this music? If so, what format will it be in after conversion, and can
I play the music in my CD player in the car?" More

IT Pros Advised to Address Information Overload
In an effort to combat attention fatigue and information overload, the
Burton Group, a Salt Lake City-based IT research firm, released a
research report Jan. 8 introducing the concept of an Enterprise
Attention Management system. More

From Tom:
Is information overload a problem for you or not?
If it is, do you have successful handling techniques?
Love to hear them if you have.

Today all eyes are on New Mexico as Senator Jerry Ortiz y Pino sponsors
a ban aspartame bill. More

It was reported in South Africa (Star, 1/7/2007) Paul Hammann won in
his issue against the false advertising of aspartame (Canderel) tasting
like sugar. “Initially Merisant SA (trading as Canderel) submitted
documents to support the claims, but later advised the ASA that both
claims would be withdrawn “on a global scale" during the course of the
year. The company requested that instead of being given the usual three
months to remove existing stock from the shelves, that they be given
eight months to comply. At the Dec 14 hearing the ASA Directorate
settled on a compromise of five months." The product should be removed
forever in South Africa!

In July, Food Ingredients First.com reported: “China to Restrict
Aspartame Production and Sale." The article continued,
"State-designated aspartame producers shall in principle shift
production to other products when moving to a new place, according to
the circular. By controlling production and banning the launch of new
projects, China will exert more efforts to restrict the production and
sale of aspartame, press reports said. A circular issued by The
National Development and Reform Commission (NDR), the State
Administration for Industry and Commerce and the State Environmental
Protection Administration highlighted their further strengthening of
China’s work on restricting the sale and production of the widely used
sweetener. State-designated aspartame producers shall in principle
shift production to other products when moving to a new place,
according to the circular." Sounds like a “get out of town notice"!

Parliamentarian Roger Williams in England demanded a ban of aspartame
when the Ramazzini Study confirmed FDA’s original studies that
aspartame is a multipotential carcinogen.

In the Falklands, Robin Goodwin, Mission Possible Falklands, also
petitioned for a ban and got tired of waiting. He wrote every resident
of the Falklands and today aspartame products rot on the shelves. His
wife suffered an aspartame brain tumor and his daughter had seizures
for 18 years until they found out aspartame is a seizure-triggering
drug and abstained. All the seizures stopped.

Requests for ban are coming in from other states (today Washington
State, California and Illinois) and the ban aspartame bill in New
Mexico can be used for any state or country. Aspartame is illegally on
the market. It violates adulteration and interstate commerce statutes,
as well as the Delaney Amendment, which forbids putting anything in
food that has proven cancer in animals. http://www.wnho.net/delaney_lives.htm
The aspartame documentary, Sweet Misery: A Poisoned World, exposes how
Don Rumsfeld called in his markers to get this poison on the market
when the FDA said no.

For information on the ban aspartame bill you can contact Stephen Fox
who spearheaded the efforts there, Mission Possible New Mexico at Stephen@santafefineart.com

The government is currently reviewing regulations allowing the use of
several controversial sweeteners in food products sold in Indonesia.

The review, which forms part of a decades-long worldwide debate on use
of three particular sweeteners -- aspartame, saccharin and cyclamate --
is expected to be completed later this month.

"We may remove artificial sweeteners, such as aspartame, saccharin and
cyclamate, from the Health Ministry’s decree ... about allowable food
additives," said Drug and Food Monitoring Agency (BPOM) head Husniah
R.T. Akib.

The review will receive input from the BPOM,the Health Ministry, the
State Ministry for Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises, the
Industry Ministry and the Trade Ministry, as well as experts from
universities and non-government organizations.

The food and beverage industry, the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and
Industry and several consumer groups are also involved in the process.

"We are looking at the various opinions around the world on these
sweeteners. If stakeholders and people believe those three substitutes
are health hazards, we will ban them," Husniah said.

"We, the regulators, don’t have any problems with the possible ban. The
industries unfortunately will," she added.

BPOM data shows Codex Alimentarius -- a set of internationally
recognized standards, codes of practice, guidelines and other
recommendations relating to foods, food production and food safety --
as well as the European Union and Britain still allow the use of the
three sweeteners in food production and consumption.

In Asia, Japan and Malaysia do not allow use of the sweeteners. Japan
bans aspartame and cyclamate while Malaysia only prohibits cyclamate.

"In addition to Codex Alimentarius, we also refer to world agencies
such as the World Health Organization, the Food and Agriculture
Organization and the FDA," Husniah said.

"There is no way can we do research on every one of the two million
products in the country. We only monitor products available in
markets," she added.

University experts said studies on aspartame and other artificial
sweeteners in Indonesia were rare.

The use of aspartame as a sweetener was allowed by the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) of the United States for the first time in 1981.
This decision came under question, however, with the release of studies
finding aspartame to be carcinogenic.

Cyclamate was discovered in 1937 and recognized as safe for consumption
in the U.S. by 1958. However, it was banned by the FDA in 1969 when
reports surfaced linking it with cancer.

Likewise, the use of saccharin has also been disputed. Canada banned it
in 1977 after a study found the prevalence of bladder cancer in rats
that had been fed large doses of the sweetener. The FDA also imposed a
ban, though lifted it in 1991.

"Doubts about aspartame among FDA scientists were overruled by the
FDA’s management and it was given approval. Many countries soon
followed suit and approved aspartame on the basis of the same flawed
studies," Roger Williams, a British parliamentarian, told the The
Guardian on Dec. 15, 2005.

A 1996 review of past research conducted on aspartame found that every
industry-funded study had said the sweetener was safe to consume.
However 92 percent of independent studies claim one or more problems
exist with its use, the British newspaper reported. (Martini: This
report is on http://www.dorway.com
Scroll down to experts, Ralph Walton, M.D.)

Other artificial sweeteners currently approved by the BPOM include
acesulfame-K, alitame, neotame and sucralose, as well as natural
substances such as isomalt, xylitol, maltitol, mannitol, sorbitol and
lactitol.

In the e-Alert “Getting Played" (1/2/07), I told you how patients with
schizophrenia are typically deficient in vitamin B-3 (also known as
niacin). In some cases, patients respond quite favorably to high doses
of the vitamin.

When I sent you that e-Alert, HSI Panelist Allan Spreen, M.D., was out
of town, but upon his return he sent me this additional information,
along with a fascinating personal story:

"The link between B-3 and schizophrenia is not well known except for
those in complementary medicine. The response, however, can be
remarkable... More

Report: Soap and water as effective as environment-damaging
antibacterial cleaners: More

Have you ever wondered why Coke comes with a smile? It’s
because
it gets you high. They took the cocaine out almost a hundred years ago.
You know why? It was redundant.

In The First 10 minutes: 10 teaspoons of sugar hit your system. (100%
of your recommended daily intake.) You don’t immediately
vomit
from the overwhelming sweetness because phosphoric acid cuts the flavor
allowing you to keep it down.

20 minutes: Your blood sugar spikes, causing an insulin burst. Your
liver responds to this by turning any sugar it can get it’s
hands
on into fat. (There’s plenty of that at this particular
moment.)

45 minutes: Your body ups your dopamine production stimulating the
pleasure centers of your brain. This is physically the same way heroin
works, by the way.

60 minutes: The phosphoric acid binds calcium, magnesium and zinc in
your lower intestine, providing a further boost in metabolism. This is
compounded by high doses of sugar and artificial sweeteners also
increasing the urinary excretion of calcium.

60 Minutes: The caffeine’s diuretic properties come into
play.
(It makes you have to pee.) It is now assured that you’ll
evacuate the bonded calcium, magnesium and zinc that was headed to your
bones as well as sodium, electrolyte and water.

60 minutes: As the rave inside of you dies down you’ll start
to
have a sugar crash. You may become irritable and/or sluggish.
You’ve also now, literally, pissed away all the water that
was in
the Coke. But not before infusing it with valuable nutrients your body
could have used for things like even having the ability to hydrate your
system or build strong bones and teeth.

This will all be followed by a caffeine crash in the next few hours.
(As little as two if you’re a smoker.) But, hey, have another
Coke, it’ll make you feel better.

Twenty years ago, I drove a cab for a living. When I arrived at 2:30
a.m., the building was dark except for a single light in a ground floor
window. Under these circumstances, many drivers would just honk once or
twice, wait a minute, and then drive away.

But I had seen too many impoverished people who depended on taxis as
their only means of transportation. Unless a situation smelled of
danger, I always went to the door. This passenger might be someone who
needs my assistance, I reasoned to myself. So I walked to the door and
knocked.
“Just a minute”, answered a frail, elderly voice.

I could hear something being dragged across the floor. After a long
pause, the door opened. A small woman in her 80’s stood before me. She
was wearing a print dress and a pillbox hat with a veil pinned on it,
like somebody out of a 1940s movie. By her side was a small nylon
suitcase. The apartment looked as if no one had lived in it for years.
All the furniture was covered with sheets. There were no clocks on the
walls, no knick-knacks or utensils on the counters. In the corner was a
cardboard box filled with photos and glassware.

“Would you carry my bag out to the car?” she said.

I took the suitcase to the cab, then returned to assist the woman. She
took my arm and we walked slowly toward the curb. She kept thanking me
for my kindness.

“It’s nothing”, I told her. “I just try to treat my passengers the way
I would want my mother treated”.

“Oh, you’re such a good boy”, she said.

When we got in the cab, she gave me an address, and then asked, “Could
you drive through downtown?”

“It’s not the shortest way,” I answered quickly.

“Oh, I don’t mind,” she said. “I’m in no hurry. I’m on my way to a
hospice”.

I looked in the rear-view mirror. Her eyes were glistening.

“I don’t have any family left,” she continued. “The doctor says I don’t
have very long.”

I quietly reached over and shut off the meter. “What route would you
like me to take?” I asked.

For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the
building where she had once worked as an elevator operator.

We drove through the neighbourhood where she and her husband had lived
when they were newlyweds. She had me pull up in front of a furniture
warehouse that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a
girl. Sometimes she’d ask me to slow in front of a particular building
or corner and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.

As the first hint of sun was creasing the horizon, she suddenly said,
“I’m tired. Let’s go now.”

We drove in silence to the address she had given me. It was a low
building, like a small convalescent home, with a driveway that passed
under a portico. Two orderlies came out to the cab as soon as we pulled
up. They were solicitous and intent, watching her every move. They must
have been expecting her. I opened the trunk and took the small suitcase
to the door.

The woman was already seated in a wheelchair. “How much do I owe you?”
she asked, reaching into her purse.

“Nothing,” I said.

“You have to make a living,” she answered.

“There are other passengers,” I responded.

Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug. She held onto me
tightly.

“You gave an old woman a little moment of joy,” she said. “Thank you.”
I squeezed her hand, and then walked into the dim morning light.

Behind me, a door shut. It was the sound of the closing of a life. I
didn’t pick up any more passengers that shift. I drove aimlessly lost
in thought. For the rest of that day, I could hardly talk. What if that
woman had gotten an angry driver, or one who was impatient to end his
shift? What if I had refused to take the run, or had honked once, then
driven away? On a quick review, I don’t think that I have done anything
more important in my life. We’re conditioned to think that our lives
revolve around great moments. But great moments often catch us
unaware-beautifully wrapped in what others may consider a small one.
PEOPLE MAY NOT REMEMBER EXACTLY WHAT YOU DID, OR WHAT YOU SAID, BUT
THEY WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER HOW YOU MADE THEM FEEL. You won’t get any big
surprise in 10 days if you send this to ten people. But, you might help
make the world a little kinder and more compassionate by sending it on.
Thank you, my friend...

Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might
as well dance. Every morning when I open my eyes, I tell myself that it
is special. Every day, every minute, every breath truly is a gift.